Geoffrey Chaucer & The
Canterbury Tales
• Famously captures
and satirizes life in
the late Middle Ages
• Author of the poem
The Canterbury Tales
Life and Times
• Lives during 14th Century - an age of
transition
• Son of a wine merchant, born 1340
• Educated; served in royal households in
admin positions
• Able to travel for the crown to France &
Italy
• Variety of jobs - witnessed the economic,
political and social changes in England
Chaucer’s Work
• Chaucer’s work experience and travels
afforded him with the ability to see
people from all levels of society
• This exposure allows him to write
characters who represent the lower,
middle, and upper classes
• This in itself is unique. No longer does
literature only present the lives of
kings and warriors.
Middle English
• The Canterbury Tales was written in Middle English,
the primary language spoken by the population
• In part due to CT’s popularity, Middle English
becomes primary language for the royal court and
upper class as well
• Chaucer is called “The Father of English Literature”
Chaucer’s Tales
• Tells the larger tale
of the journey of
pilgrims to Canterbury
Cathedral
• Involves storytelling
by individuals, who
range from a nun, a
knight, a cook, a
monk, and a
merchant
The Premise
• Chaucer uses a pilgrimage (religious journey) as a way for
29 characters to share their stories
• Leaving from the Tabard Inn (below), the pilgrims are
instructed to tell 2 tales on the way to Canterbury
Cathedral and 2 on the return journey
• Best tale will be rewarded by the inn owner and host of
the journey
The Premise
• Pilgrimages were
popular in the period
• Show your devotion
• Healing properties
• Archbishop Thomas a
Becket murdered inside
Canterbury Cathedral
in 1170 when he
disagreed with King
Henry II over church
rights and privileges
Stained glass depicting two knights of King
Henry II stabbing Archbishop Thomas a Becket
• The Church canonized
him within 3 years of the
murder
• Most popular pilgrimage
site in England in the
13oo’s
Structure of The Canterbury
Tales
• 3 Parts
General Prologue
Characters’
Prologues
Characters’ Tales
General Prologue
• Chaucer’s poem begins with an
introduction of all the pilgrims, the host,
and Chaucer (who adds himself as a
fictional narrator)
• Each person is particularly identified by
profession and appearance; there is also
implied moral judgment.
• The GP also sets up the journey and
frames the characters’ individual stories
Literary Characteristics of
The Canterbury Tales
• FRAME STORY:
• A literary device in which a smaller
story is told within the context of the
tale
• Example: Chaucer is telling the story of
the pilgrims; within that, smaller tales
are told
Literary Characteristics of
The Canterbury Tales
• HEROIC COUPLETS:
• 2 paired lines of poetry, written in iambic
pentameter (meter). The pair (or couplet)
must RHYME.
• Introduced by Chaucer!
• Example:
“You’re off to Canterbury - well, God speed!/
Blessed St. Thomas answer to your need!”
Literary Characteristics of
The Canterbury Tales
• SATIRE
• When an author ridicules and exposes the faults
of his or her subject
• Used in order to provoke change
• The Canterbury Tales is a very important satire,
pointing out the need for change in Medieval beliefs
and practices
• Two tools Chaucer uses to create satire are
1. Verbal irony and 2. physiognomy
Literary Characteristics of
The Canterbury Tales
• VERBAL IRONY
• Is when there is a meaningful contrast
between what is said and what is
actually meant
• Example: Saying, “The best monk,”
when really the monk does not really
adhere to the ideals of monastic life
Literary Characteristics of
The Canterbury Tales
• PHYSIOGNOMY:
• The use of physical appearance to suggest
attributes of a person’s character or
personality
• Example: Think of evil stepmother figures in
Disney movies. Their harsh, angular
appearances always hint at their malevolent
motives
Characters’ Prologues and
Tales
• Chaucer meant for each character to share 4 tales
in total, but died before he could achieve this
• Before each tale, Chaucer includes a prologue or
introduction of the person who will tell the tale
• Each has a short introduction in the General
Prologue, but here he or she is more fully
developed
• Narrator’s observations
• Character’s words, actions, and interactions
• Follows with shared tale told to the whole group
of travelers.
Types of Tales
• ALLEGORY
• A story with the purpose of teaching a moral
lesson
• Characters and events represent abstract
qualities or ideas. The writer intends a
secondary meaning.
• Characters are often personifications of
abstractions like greed, envy, etc.
• Example: The Pardoner’s Tale
Types of Tales
• ROMANCE:
• A story focusing on the episodic
adventures of knights and the
challenges they face
• Example: The Wife of Bath’s Tale
from @ChaucerDothTweet
• Do a litel daunse. Make a litel love.
Gette thee doune thys nighte.
• Producte Idea: Greene knighte
bobbelheade. The heade kan be
removid.
• What do alliteratif poetes have for
lunche? Caesura salad
• Yf any folke have payinge writinge gigges for a
bureaucrat-poete, please DM.
• Oh thou, thou didst shake me thurgh al the longe
nighte.
• In reaction to the Jay-Z album Magna Carta Holy
Grail:
• My reaccioun to Magna Carta ys that yt hath sum
solid legal principles that kan be expanded upon yn
the future.